i only need a second

Tick tock, tick tock

Take a breath

Take inventory

Bloodstains sinking deeper, so much deeper

Plush carpet that costs a week’s salary, at least

A soul that absolutely nobody will miss

The knife

That cursed knife

Dripping with red

An absence of an alibi

Tick tock, tick tock

Take a breath

Take a breath, try again in

Lungs that don’t work, burning for oxygen

Flames of panic, licking up any calm in its surround sound

A mouth that doesn’t want to scream, a mind that won’t stop

A beat

A one two beat

No identifiable source

A tell-tale heart can’t be so it’s

Tick tock, tick tock

Take a breath

Take the body

Still. Cold. No longer bleeding. On the table

No, not the table, take it to the bath

Clear it of all

The bloody residue

Last night’s re-heated stew

Any and all DNA evidence

Blood red water, down the drain

Tick tock, tick tock

Take a breath

Take the blame

An abusive husband

Battered woman syndrome, insanity, self-defense

A wife who loved him still

With a friend who knows she deserves more

Sirens

Sirens and lights

Say it was me

Tick tock, tick tock

Take a breath

Take the out